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The
upper middle class is a sociological concept referring to the social group constituted by higher-status members of the middle class. This is in contrast to the term lower middle class used for the group at the other end of the middle class scale and regular middle class. There is considerable debate as to how the upper middle class might be defined. According to Max Weber the upper middle class consists of well-educated professionals with graduate degrees and comfortable incomes.
The
American middle class#Professional/Managerial middle class is defined similarly using Income in the United States, Educational attainment in the United States and occupation as main indicators. In the United States, the upper middle class is defined as mostly consisting of white-collar professionals who have not only above-average Personal income in the United States and advanced Educational attainment in the United States but also a high degree of autonomy in their work, leading to higher job satisfaction. The main occupational tasks of upper middle class individuals tend to center on conceptualizing, consulting, and instruction.{{cite book | last = Ehrenreich | first = Barbara | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 1989 | title = Fear of Falling, The Inner Life of the Middle Class| publisher = Harper Collins | location = New York, NY | id = 0-06-0973331-->
Professions
Certain professions can be judged as "upper middle class" though any such measurement remains somewhat subjective due to people's differing perception of class. Most people in the upper-middle class strata are highly educated white collar professional class such as physicians, lawyers,
economists, university
professors,
architects,
scientists, engineers, dentists, pharmacists, high-level
civil servants and the
intelligentsia. Other common professions include corporate executive and entrepreneur. Generally, people in these professions have an advanced post-secondary education and a comfortable standard of living.
Values
Most people encompassing this station in life have a high regard for higher education, and probably more than any other socio-economic class strive for their children and themselves to obtain graduate or at least four-year undergraduate degrees. This emphasis placed on education should not come as a surprise considering that most people in the upper middle class are professionals who often hold graduate degrees.
Additionally, they place a high value on foreign travel, the arts, and
high culture in general. This value also binds into the emphasis placed on education as foreign travel increases one's understanding of other cultures and helps create a global perspective.
In the U.S. the upper middle class is rather divided in terms of political ideology. Social liberalism as well as
fiscal conservatism are among the most prominent ideologies.
Educational attainment in the United States commonly increases the chance of a person subscribing to liberal beliefs, making liberals the best educated ideological demographic. In terms of income, liberals tend to be tied with pro-business conservatives. Most
mass affluent households and college-educated professionals tend to be either centrist or center-right on fiscal issues but liberal to left-wing on social issues. A slight majority of college-educated professionals, who compose 15% of the population and 20% of the electorate, favor the
Democratic Party (United States). Among those with
Affluence in the United States, not all of whom are necessarily upper middle class, a slight majority favor the
Republican Party (United States).
Academia and those with graduate degrees overall favor the Democratic Party.In 2005, 72% of full-time faculty members at four year institutions, the majority of whom are upper middle class,{{cite book ] to the forefront. Movements such as the Peace movement, The Anti-nuclear Movement,
Environmentalism, the Anti-
tobacco smoking movement, and even in the past with
Blue laws and the
Temperance movement are all products of the upper middle class. Some claim this is because this is the largest class (and the lowest class) with any true political power for positive change, while others claim some of the more restrictive social movements (such as with smoking and drinking) are based upon "saving people from themselves."{{cite book | last = Ehrenreich | first = Barbara | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 1989 | title = Fear of Falling, The Inner Life of the Middle Class| publisher = Harper Collins | location = New York, NY | id = 0-06-0973331-->
==American upper middle class==
See American middle class#The Professional/Managerial middle class for a complete overview of the American middle classes.In the United States the term
American middle class and its subdivisions are an extremely vague concept as neither economists nor sociologists have ever accurately defined the term. There are several perceptions of the upper middle class and what the term means. In academic models the term applies to highly educated salaried professionals whose work is largely self-directed. Many have graduate degrees with educational attainment serving as the main distinguishing feature of this class. Household incomes commonly may exceed $100,000, with some smaller one-income earners household having incomes in the high 5-figure range.{{cite book | last = Thompson | first = William | authorlink = | coauthors = Joseph Hickey | year = 2005 | title = Society in Focus| publisher = Pearson | location = Boston, MA | id = 0-205-41365-X-->
{{cquote|"The upper middle class has grown...and its composition has changed. Increasingly salaried managers and professionals have replaced individual business owners and independent professionals. The key to the success of the upper middle class is the growing importance of educational certification...its lifestyles and opinions are becoming increasingly normative for the whole society. It is in fact a porous class, open to people...who earn the right credentials. "- Dennis Gilbert, The American Class Structure, 1998.-->
In additional to having autonomy in their work, above-average incomes, and advanced educations, the upper middle class also tends to be influential, setting trends and largely shaping public opinion. Overall, members of this class are also secure from economic down-turns and, unlike their counterparts in the
Income quintiles, do not need to fear downsizing, corporate cost-cutting, or outsourcing -- an economic benefit largely attributable to their Academic degrees and
Household income in the United States, likely in the Income quintiles or
Household income in the United States. Typical professions for this class include professors,
accountants,
architects,
urban planners, engineers,
economists,
pharmacists political science, physicians and
lawyers.
Income
While many Americans see
Income in the United States as the prime determinant of class, occupational status,
Educational attainment in the United States, and value systems are equally important. Income is in part determined by the scarcity of certain skill sets.{{cite book | last = Thompson | first = William | authorlink = | coauthors = Joseph Hickey | year = 2005 | title = Society in Focus As a result an occupation that requires a scarce skill, the attainment of which is often achieved through an Educational attainment in the United States, and entrusts its occupant with a high degree of influence will usually offer high economic compensation. The high Income in the United States is meant to ensure that individuals obtain the necessary skills (e.g. medical or graduate school) and complete their tasks with the necessary valor.{{cite book | last = Levine | first = Rhonda | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 1998 | title = Social Class and Stratification| publisher = Rowman & Littlefield | location = Lanham, MD | id = 0-8476-8543-8--> There are also differences between
Household income in the United States and
Personal income in the United States. In 2005, 42% of US households (76% among the
Income quintiles) had two or more
income earners; as a result, 18% of households but only 5% of individuals had
six figure incomes. To illustrate, two nurses each making $55,000 per year can out-earn, in a household sense, a single attorney who makes a median of $95,000 annually.
Sociologists Dennis Gilbert, Willam Thompson and Joseph Hickey estimate the upper middle class to constitute roughly 15% of the population. Using the 15% figure one may conclude that the American upper middle class consists, strictly in an income sense, of professionals with
Personal income in the United States in excess of $62,500, who commonly reside in households with six figure incomes. The difference between personal and household income can be explained by considering that 76% of households with incomes exceeding $90,000 (the top 20%) had two or more income earners.
{| class=wikitable!Data!Top third!Top quarter!Top quintile!Top 15%!Top 10%!Top 5%|-!colspan=10|Household income in the United States|-|Lower threshold (annual gross income)||$65,000||$80,000||$91,705||$100,000||$118,200||$166,200|-|Exact Percentage of households ||34.72%||25.60%||20.00%||17.80%||10.00%||5.00%|-!colspan=10|Personal income in the United States (age 25+)|-|Lower threshold (annual gross income)||$37,500||$47,500||$52,500||$62,500||$75,000||$100,000|-|Exact Percentage of individuals||33.55%||24.03%||19.74||14.47%||10.29%||5.63%|-|}
SOURCE: US Census Bureau, 2006
See also
- Middle class
- Social class
- Bourgeois personality
US-specific
References
- Definition of Middle Class stratification
- Relationship between income and education
The
upper middle class is a sociological concept referring to the social group constituted by higher-status members of the
middle class. This is in contrast to the term
lower middle class used for the group at the other end of the middle class scale and regular middle class. There is considerable debate as to how the upper middle class might be defined. According to
Max Weber the upper middle class consists of well-educated professionals with graduate degrees and comfortable incomes.
The American middle class#Professional/Managerial middle class is defined similarly using Income in the United States, Educational attainment in the United States and occupation as main indicators. In the United States, the upper middle class is defined as mostly consisting of white-collar professionals who have not only above-average Personal income in the United States and advanced
Educational attainment in the United States but also a high degree of autonomy in their work, leading to higher job satisfaction. The main occupational tasks of upper middle class individuals tend to center on conceptualizing, consulting, and instruction.{{cite book | last = Ehrenreich | first = Barbara | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 1989 | title = Fear of Falling, The Inner Life of the Middle Class| publisher = Harper Collins | location = New York, NY | id = 0-06-0973331-->
Professions
Certain professions can be judged as "upper middle class" though any such measurement remains somewhat subjective due to people's differing perception of class. Most people in the upper-middle class strata are highly educated white collar
professional class such as physicians,
lawyers,
economists,
university professors,
architects, scientists,
engineers, dentists, pharmacists, high-level civil servants and the
intelligentsia. Other common professions include corporate executive and entrepreneur. Generally, people in these professions have an advanced post-secondary education and a comfortable standard of living.
Values
Most people encompassing this station in life have a high regard for higher education, and probably more than any other socio-economic class strive for their children and themselves to obtain graduate or at least four-year undergraduate degrees. This emphasis placed on education should not come as a surprise considering that most people in the upper middle class are professionals who often hold graduate degrees.
Additionally, they place a high value on foreign travel, the arts, and
high culture in general. This value also binds into the emphasis placed on education as foreign travel increases one's understanding of other cultures and helps create a global perspective.
In the U.S. the upper middle class is rather divided in terms of political ideology.
Social liberalism as well as
fiscal conservatism are among the most prominent ideologies.
Educational attainment in the United States commonly increases the chance of a person subscribing to liberal beliefs, making liberals the best educated ideological demographic. In terms of income, liberals tend to be tied with pro-business conservatives. Most
mass affluent households and college-educated professionals tend to be either centrist or center-right on fiscal issues but liberal to left-wing on social issues. A slight majority of college-educated professionals, who compose 15% of the population and 20% of the electorate, favor the
Democratic Party (United States). Among those with
Affluence in the United States, not all of whom are necessarily upper middle class, a slight majority favor the Republican Party (United States). Academia and those with graduate degrees overall favor the Democratic Party.In 2005, 72% of full-time faculty members at four year institutions, the majority of whom are upper middle class,{{cite book ] to the forefront. Movements such as the Peace movement, The Anti-nuclear Movement,
Environmentalism, the Anti-tobacco smoking movement, and even in the past with Blue laws and the
Temperance movement are all products of the upper middle class. Some claim this is because this is the largest class (and the lowest class) with any true political power for positive change, while others claim some of the more restrictive social movements (such as with smoking and drinking) are based upon "saving people from themselves."{{cite book | last = Ehrenreich | first = Barbara | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 1989 | title = Fear of Falling, The Inner Life of the Middle Class| publisher = Harper Collins | location = New York, NY | id = 0-06-0973331-->
==American upper middle class==
See American middle class#The Professional/Managerial middle class for a complete overview of the American middle classes.In the United States the term American middle class and its subdivisions are an extremely vague concept as neither economists nor sociologists have ever accurately defined the term. There are several perceptions of the upper middle class and what the term means. In academic models the term applies to highly educated salaried professionals whose work is largely self-directed. Many have graduate degrees with educational attainment serving as the main distinguishing feature of this class. Household incomes commonly may exceed $100,000, with some smaller one-income earners household having incomes in the high 5-figure range.{{cite book | last = Thompson | first = William | authorlink = | coauthors = Joseph Hickey | year = 2005 | title = Society in Focus| publisher = Pearson | location = Boston, MA | id = 0-205-41365-X-->
{{cquote|"The upper middle class has grown...and its composition has changed. Increasingly salaried managers and professionals have replaced individual business owners and independent professionals. The key to the success of the upper middle class is the growing importance of educational certification...its lifestyles and opinions are becoming increasingly normative for the whole society. It is in fact a porous class, open to people...who earn the right credentials. "- Dennis Gilbert, The American Class Structure, 1998.-->
In additional to having autonomy in their work, above-average incomes, and advanced educations, the upper middle class also tends to be influential, setting trends and largely shaping public opinion. Overall, members of this class are also secure from economic down-turns and, unlike their counterparts in the Income quintiles, do not need to fear downsizing, corporate cost-cutting, or outsourcing -- an economic benefit largely attributable to their
Academic degrees and Household income in the United States, likely in the
Income quintiles or Household income in the United States. Typical professions for this class include
professors,
accountants,
architects,
urban planners, engineers, economists,
pharmacists
political science, physicians and lawyers.
Income
While many Americans see
Income in the United States as the prime determinant of class, occupational status, Educational attainment in the United States, and value systems are equally important. Income is in part determined by the scarcity of certain skill sets.{{cite book | last = Thompson | first = William | authorlink = | coauthors = Joseph Hickey | year = 2005 | title = Society in Focus As a result an occupation that requires a scarce skill, the attainment of which is often achieved through an
Educational attainment in the United States, and entrusts its occupant with a high degree of influence will usually offer high economic compensation. The high
Income in the United States is meant to ensure that individuals obtain the necessary skills (e.g. medical or graduate school) and complete their tasks with the necessary valor.{{cite book | last = Levine | first = Rhonda | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 1998 | title = Social Class and Stratification| publisher = Rowman & Littlefield | location = Lanham, MD | id = 0-8476-8543-8--> There are also differences between
Household income in the United States and
Personal income in the United States. In 2005, 42% of US households (76% among the
Income quintiles) had two or more income earners; as a result, 18% of households but only 5% of individuals had
six figure incomes. To illustrate, two nurses each making $55,000 per year can out-earn, in a household sense, a single attorney who makes a median of $95,000 annually.
Sociologists Dennis Gilbert, Willam Thompson and Joseph Hickey estimate the upper middle class to constitute roughly 15% of the population. Using the 15% figure one may conclude that the American upper middle class consists, strictly in an income sense, of professionals with
Personal income in the United States in excess of $62,500, who commonly reside in households with six figure incomes. The difference between personal and household income can be explained by considering that 76% of households with incomes exceeding $90,000 (the top 20%) had two or more income earners.
{| class=wikitable!Data!Top third!Top quarter!Top quintile!Top 15%!Top 10%!Top 5%|-!colspan=10|Household income in the United States|-|Lower threshold (annual gross income)||$65,000||$80,000||$91,705||$100,000||$118,200||$166,200|-|Exact Percentage of households ||34.72%||25.60%||20.00%||17.80%||10.00%||5.00%|-!colspan=10|Personal income in the United States (age 25+)|-|Lower threshold (annual gross income)||$37,500||$47,500||$52,500||$62,500||$75,000||$100,000|-|Exact Percentage of individuals||33.55%||24.03%||19.74||14.47%||10.29%||5.63%|-|}
SOURCE: US Census Bureau, 2006
See also
- Middle class
- Social class
- Bourgeois personality
US-specific
References
- Definition of Middle Class stratification
- Relationship between income and education
